They Can Go Back
by KryptoniteMistress
Summary: Set during "Salvation". Oliver finds out Tess is hurt, and pays her a visit. Could this bring them back together?


**A/N: Hello! This is something I have been working with since I saw "Salvation" back in May, but, quite frankly, I thought it sucked. But with some tweaking and help from a couple of people, including the greatest best friend ever, I finally got it to work to my liking. So I hope you enjoy it too! :D  
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**Disclaimer: Since the finale did not go the way I would have wirtten it, it is safe to say I own nothing realted to Smallville  
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_They Can Go Back_

He walked away from her and she couldn't help but let the tears flow down her face. She would never let him see them, though. It wasn't the fact that he flat out refused to help her. That wasn't what made her so upset. It was what he said to her after. He no longer trusted her. He would never forgive her. The days of exotic vacations and feeling like they were the only two people in the world were long gone. And it was all her fault. She had to go and get involved in Checkmate. She had to go and betray the person who she cared about more than anyone and his friends. She had to go and push him away when they first crossed paths again. Now it was too late. He had moved on and would never care for her as much as she did for him. As much as she _still _did.

As the words were coming out of his mouth, those hurtful words, a pain tugged at his heart. He never thought he would be so cold to her, like it was just some business deal that had gone wrong and he had to make sure it didn't happen again. He never thought, though, that she could do that to him. She, whose strength and assertiveness terrified him even to this day. She, whom he tried to win back, only to be denying forgiveness the same way she had done. Now, there was no more spinning in circles with them. Who knew if and when they would see each other again. He was currently trying to move on, but deep down he knew that no one else could compare, and that he was settling for something more superficial to avoid getting hurt. That was why when he got up to leave and leaned over her, it took everything in him to hold back from pressing his lips against her forehead. Instead he uttered one last harsh threat and walked away, not bothering to glance back.

* * *

A few weeks had passed and they both had plenty of distractions to keep their minds off of each other. At least, as best as they could. Oliver was spending time with Chloe and helping her at Watchtower. When he did not have that going on, he was gearing up to fight Zod and his army. They all knew their doom could be coming soon.

Tess and Zod kept going back and forth during this time. It began as an almost business like alliance, which grew into something physical. She knew it could never be more. Partly because she didn't want it to, and even if she did, she would get hurt if her emotions got the better of her again.

In the present moment, Tess had finally found Clark's fortress, after nearly two years of searching. And what she found inside there was someone who she'd had quite a complicated relationship with lately. It started out as an intellectual bond. They were both driven by their strength and mutual goals. Or so she thought. Now that she saw Zod for who he really was, she had never felt so much hatred for anyone in her life. She knew what he would do if she did not try to stop him. Furthermore, she had to atone for her mistakes. Even if this was the last thing she ever did, at least it would be trying to help Clark and doing the right thing.

And, after he struck her with his heat vision, she thought it very well may be the last thing she ever did. Before she slipped out of consciousness, she was only thinking of one thing: Oliver. No matter what happened, she hoped he would manage to forgive her, even if she never saw him again. She hoped she would, though. As he continued to consume her thoughts, she wished that he was there with her. To hold her the way he did when Chloe shot her in the vision of the future that she saw. To tell her everything was going to be okay. She guessed that some people have it right, you ultimately die alone. And she figured that was only what she deserved after all the sins she had committed.

As the moments lingered on, her thoughts became more faint, fading off into the distance. She could no longer focus on what was around her, and as it gradually became black, she slipped out of her own consciousness. Clark was now making his way to the fortress in hopes of seeking counsel from Jor-El. When he arrived, there, however, he was greeted by someone he did not expect. Zod. As much as he was pent up on fighting against him and that he could not be shown the error of his ways, Clark tried to make him see otherwise. He flew off when he wouldn't hear any more of it and when Clark glanced around at the place where he received so much guidance, he found Tess lying on the ground, lifeless. When he locked eyes on her he felt the urge to help her. He knew she must have been wanting to help him and foght Zod in his defense. He would look at her in a better light now. But first things first, he had to get her help. So he super sped to Smallville Medical Center and once Tess was stabilized he wandered back into Watchtower with Oliver and Chloe anxiously at his heels.

"Well?" Chloe was the first to speak.

"I didn't get to talk to Jor-el. Zod was there." Clark said with a sigh. "And after that distraction, I found Tess lying in the fortress, with half of her face burnt off."

The two blondes exchanged puzzled looks with each other and stared back at the tall brunette.

"I brought her to Smallville Medical Center," he went on to explain, "…she was unconscious. If I wouldn't have come….she'd probably be dead."

Oliver's heart unexpectedly leapt up into his throat at the news. He could no longer occupy his mind with anything else, not even with the coming war that lay ahead.

Chloe actually seemed concerned as well. "What do you think happened?" she asked Clark quietly.

"I assume she tried to stop Zod and he used his powers to kill her. Luckily I got there before that could happen."

"Look, do you two need me right now?" Oliver jumped in suddenly. "I mean, can you hold things down for a little while? There's something I want to do."

"Well, yeah, but…" Chloe started to reply, but Oliver was already rushing out the door in a way that could almost rival Clark.

"Where do you think he's running off to?" Clark asked his best friend.

Chloe let out a disgruntled laugh. "Please, Clark. I know exactly where his destination lies." _In more ways than one, _she thought to herself. When Clark appeared to not understand, she rolled her eyes and continued. "Come on, Clark. Do you think it's mere coincidence that you return bearing news of rescuing Tess and he announces his sudden need for departure?"

"You think he went to see her?"

"No. I know. You know, deep down I knew that what Ollie and I had wasn't real. It was just safe and superficial, a way for us not to get hurt."

* * *

The sight that Oliver beheld among walking into Tess's hospital room struck him with more horror than he'd ever known was possible. She was the strongest person he knew. Yet seeing her, lying there, with almost all of the life taken out of her and burn marks all down one side, she looked so fragile, so broken. He just wanted to hold her and tell her it would be alright. And that she still looked beautiful to him.

It took everything in him to not react, break down, but he could not do that in front of her. Instead, he smiled gingerly at the woman who would always have his heart.

Her eyes lit up when she saw him. "Oliver," she said quietly, straining to smile.

He sat himself down beside her bed, unable to speak yet. There was silence for a couple of moments, until Tess spoke again.

"I never would have thought you would come. Considering….what I did." Her voice broke when she uttered her last sentence.

Now compelled to speak, Oliver said, "I actually wanted to talk to you about that. Listen, Tess, I know we didn't exactly part on friendly terms last time. And I want to apologize for that. For everything I've ever done to hurt you."

She looked at him in the eyes, not believing what she was hearing.

"It's just, when Clark said what happened to you, I don't know….I felt really scared. The thought of never seeing you again….I don't think I'd be able to take it. So I had to come and make things right. I don't want to take you for granted anymore. I need you in my life."

Her eyes were quickly becoming watery. But she had to let it pass to get her words out coherently.

"So, we're okay? You forgive me for everything I did?"

Oliver flashed her one of his warm, charming smiles that still made her heart melt. "Yeah, everything's fine," he assured her sweetly.

They sat in silence for a little while longer, each being content to be in the other's company. Then Oliver suddenly remembered something that their conversation had distracted him from.

"I almost forgot," he said, digging into his jacket pocket. He took something out and held it in a fist. "Close your eyes and hold out your wrist." Tess grew nervous, and looked too afraid to comply. Oliver chuckled slightly at this. "Don't worry, it's ok. Trust me."

Trust. That was a funny choice of words. But Tess took it to be non-coincidental, so she obeyed. When she felt some type of light material being tied to her wrist, she figured she had nothing to fear after all.

"Ok," Oliver said when he was finished. "Open."

Tess once again followed orders. And when she did, she let out a small gasp once she set eyes on something so beloved to her. "Megan's bracelet," she said, her eyes watering. She looked down at it and traced her fingers over the material. "Thank you," she said, full of emotion, looking up at Oliver.

"Well, I'd figured you would want to have it hear with you while you healed. Besides, you should be able to wear your own jewelry here by now, right?"

Tess laughed lightly, then was silent for a second. "I didn't even think you would remember it."

"Of course I remember. I could never forget anything about our time together, Tess."

She looked directly at him, shocked at his statement. When that wore off, another thought occurred to her.

"How did you know where to find this?"

Oliver paused, looking at the ground. Then he looked back at her, smiling. "Whenever I've been in your office, and you don't think I notice, I see you open up the upper right hand drawer of your desk and look at it. You run your fingers over it like you did before. So I just went and got it."

Tess was completely moved by this. This small gesture that meant so much. She wanted to tell him how much it all meant to her, but she just looked into those big brown eyes and said, "Thank you." He knew the depth of what those words meant, though, and smiled brightly in response.

After a little while longer Oliver figured it was time to return to his duties as the Green Arrow.

"Tess, I have to go now. They're some things I have to take care of." He didn't need to go into the details. She already knew.

"You're fighting Zod and the Kandorians, aren't you?"

"Yes." He saw no point in lying to her.

A look of panic came over her. "Oliver, please be careful. I obviously know first-hand what he's capable of." Her voice was now shaky.

"Don't worry, I'll see you soon. I promise." He stroked her hair briefly and kissed her on the forehead. They gave each other one last glance and small smile before he got up and left.

* * *

Once he returned to Watchtower, Chloe was alone. He assumed Clark had gone off to find Zod, but he did not have time to ask questions. No sooner he had walked in Chloe was frantic.

"What took you so long? I lost the signal and can't leave all of the justice society members vulnerable against the Kandorians."

"Whoa, Chloe, slow down. Look, I uh, wasn't going to tell you yet, but I set it up with Queen Industries for Watchtower to have their own satellite. I will have to go to the earth station to get a full signal, but we'll be back on track in no time."

"Really? Wow. Okay, take this," she rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a set of radios, handing him one. "I'll talk to you soon."

Oliver arrived at the control tower for the satellite and was cruising along smoothly. Then Chloe's warnings came through about him not being alone. He heard the bangings and clangings, and once he saw their faces he knew they were not Kandorians. Whatever they were, he still appeared to be in trouble.

When this fact registered to him, only one person occupied his thoughts. He felt glad at knowing that things were now resolved between them, but sad at what they could have had and may now never be able to.

_No, _he thought to himself, _I can't think like that. _He promised her that they would see each other again soon, and he could not break that promise. He had to get out of there. He had to be okay. For her.

* * *

The invaders were charging at him at a faster pace now, and Oliver tried to maneuver his way around them, but trying to shoot arrows while crawling was no easy task. He received many bullet grazes and cuts from knives. Whoever these people were, they carried a great deal of weapons. Luckily his injuries weren't too serious.

He managed to go along the same route he came in, each move coupled with the thought of Tess, giving him more energy to keep charging through. Then, he saw a glimmer of hope. When the intruders punched into the walls, they apparently punched too hard. It made a hole just big enough for Oliver to crawl through. He could see outside, but just as he was struggling to squeeze through, he heard his attackers coming up behind him from all angles. Crossbow in hand, he shot an arrow on a string at a tree straight across. Just as three men were about to grab him he got out the rest of the way, using the string as leverage, and made his way back to Watchtower. There was something he needed to get off of his mind.

"Oh my gosh, Ollie!" Chloe shrieked worriedly as he came through the door. "Thank god you're alive. A little worse for wear maybe but I can clean that up for you."

"Don't worry about that just now," he replied dryly. "I have some things I want to discuss with you."

"Wow, that's like a business version of 'we need to talk'. " They stared at each other for a moment, each knowing what was coming. "Okay well, I have something to discuss with you too, but you can go first."

"Well, first off," he began, "I said to you before that my little group of visitors were not Kandorians."

"Right. So what are they?"

"I actually have no idea. But I don't think we've seen the last of them. They may give us more grief than anyone we've ever thought possible."

"Okay, I'll find out as much as I can and alert the rest of the society." She took a deep breath before continuing. There was no reason to delay the inevitable any longer. "So what else is up?"

This was it. He paused for a few moments before responding. "Us."

"Oh," she said, as if it was meant to be shocking, when deep down it wasn't. "Well good, because that was my topic of discussion as well. What exactly about us?"

"Well first off, in case you didn't already figure it out-"

"Save it, Ollie. I know you went to see Tess today." Her words weren't harsh, she was just making a statement.

He tried to form his words correctly before continuing. "It's just, that sort of put things in perspective for me. The way I felt when I found out about it, and then again just now when I wasn't sure if I was going to die."

"I know what you mean. I think we really need to be honest with ourselves here. When we got together, my husband had just died and you were alone. We were both vulnerable, which made the physical part satisfying at first. But we both need something deeper, and I think we're trying too hard to give it to each other. It became forced."

"I fully agree. When I was back there, fighting for my life, all I could think about was Tess."

"That's because she can give you what I can't," she said simply. When he turned to her looking confused, she went on to explain. "When we were shut up in here together, she helped me see things clearly. She made me realize that I have to gain back my faith in people to let them in again. Which is why I've been holding you at arm's length."

"So what do we do now?"

"Whatever road you choose for yourself is up to you. I am just going to keep on focusing on being more hopeful. Then maybe things will fall into place."

"I really hope they do for you, Chloe."

"You too. Tess still really cares for you. If you want my advice, don't let her go again."

"I'll try not to." With that, he made to leave.

"Oh, and Ollie," she called after him. He stopped and turned back around to face her. "I'm glad you're okay. I was really worried about you. And I hope we can stay friends, because I really do wish the best for you always."

He smiled at her. "Of course, Chloe. And thank you." He finished his exit.

* * *

Over the next two weeks, Tess remained in the hospital. She was healing faster than the doctors had expected, and with some skin grafts she was getting closer to looking back to her normal self. Oliver visited her every day, and would a lot of times stay until visiting hours were over so that they could just talk. He told her about his and Chloe's decision to break up. He didn't go into all the details, just the general gist of how they were both in it for the wrong reasons.

They were both glad that they were becoming closer again. It felt good to laugh with each other and just for it to feel like it did before. It's funny how sometimes it takes a tragedy to bring people together again.

* * *

The day that Tess was released from the hospital, Oliver stopped by the mansion to make sure she was getting settled in alright. When she saw him come through the door of her office her eyes lit up and a bright smile crossed her face.

"Oliver!" she exclaimed. He returned her smile and opened his arms to give her a warm embrace. When he was holding her, it felt so right.

"Welcome home," he said brightly. When they pulled away, he looked at her with concern. "How are you feeling?"

"Better now that I have my face back," she replied with a playful smile and turned the other way.

"Well if it's any consolation, I thought you looked beautiful the other way too," he said. The words just kind of left him, like it was natural. They caught her off guard and she turned back around to face him.

The moment was now there. Oliver had decided to go for something that had been on his mind for weeks.

"Tess, can we talk?"

"Sure," she said after a minute. She acted nervous, like she wasn't sure what to expect.

He looked into her eyes and began. "Look, Tess, I know you're still recovering and all, and I don't want to overwhelm you, but there's something I need to put out there."

She stared back at him intently, and he took that as a sign to continue. "First, I need to tell you the full story about why Chloe and I broke up. You see, when I was being ganged up on at the control tower, I thought I was going to die. And there was only one person I kept thinking of. You."

When she still didn't say anything, just stood there taking in his words, he went on. "What I'm trying to say is, Tess, that you're the one. You always have been. And I've always know that. I was just too afraid to commit to anything." He took her hands in his. "But I'm not afraid anymore. If there's anything I've learned in these past few weeks, it's to not let any chance pass you by. And I don't want to pass up another chance with you."

She looked down at their hands interlocked, not believing what she was hearing. She had never thought she ever would have another chance with Oliver. Sure they had become closer since her injury, but she thought it would never go beyond that again. And now this.

"Oliver," she said. "I don't think it's as simple as that. While we've been closer these past weeks than we've been in a long time, it doesn't mean it won't end in heartache."

"Listen, I'm not saying everything will be perfect. And I don't want it to be. I want you to challenge me and call me on my faults. I'm just saying that we can take all of that and still be happy."

She took her hands out of his and turned away from him. She seemed to be in deep thought.

"Even if we do try again, Oliver, it won't be the same. It won't be like before." She said a few seconds later, still avoiding eye contact. "Too much has happened."

"But that's just it, Tess," he said, moving closer to her and putting his hand on her shoulder. "It can. We can take what we've learned and make what we have now even stronger."

"No," Tess said simply. "We can't. We're too different now. We're not who we were back then."

"Maybe that's a good thing," Oliver countered her. "We've grown so much in our time apart, we're in a better place."

"Or we could no longer fit together."

"Stop trying to make excuses, Tess."

"Oliver, I've been hoping for so long for you to say something like this," she said, her voice breaking. She turned to look him in the eyes again. "After I was burned, I thought I would just lay there to die. And the only thing running through my mind was that I wish I could have seen you one last time. I wished you were there with me."

"I'm here now, Tess. I promise you that I will never intentionally hurt you again. I want you, and only you. And I always have." He leaned in as close as he could and placed his hands on her face, holding her gaze. "I love you," he whispered. "I love the passionate girl from the island, and the strong woman in front of me now. And that's never going to change."

Her eyes began to water and she looked to the ground then back up at him. "I love you too, Oliver. I never stopped." They stood there glancing in each other's eyes and after a few moments she pressed his lips to his. He sunk into the kiss and deepened it, each giving the other what they had been craving all along.

They broke apart after a bit, Oliver laughing, seemingly out of nowhere.

"What's so funny?" she asked, confused.

"Oh, nothing," he said. "Just how life works out sometimes. I said before how I wished we could go back to what we had before. And it looks like I'm going to get that wish, even though I didn't ever think I would."

Tess smiled at that herself, and then began kissing him again. He pulled away, however, and she once again looked confused.

"You need your rest," he explained. Then he put his arm underneath her legs and picked her up in his arms. "Doctor's orders," he continued, smiling playfully. He gave her one more kiss and then carried her to her bed, beginning their fresh new start together.


End file.
